Tight End Green Granted Extra Year of Eligibility

Mississippi State tight end Marcus Green has been granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA, the school announced today. He is enrolled in school and will be available to play this fall.

The NCAA approved Green’s extra year back in the spring, and then MSU had to work him into the scholarship picture. Plus, the oft-injured Green had to decide for sure whether he wanted a sixth year.

“I wasn’t ready to give up ball. I wasn’t ready to stop playing,” Green said. “With that being said, when I got granted the extra year, I felt like God was telling me maybe you should think this over some.”

Green’s career has been hampered by injuries. After redshirting in 2007, he missed the final 10 games of the 2008 season with a hip injury, and his 2010 season also ended after two games when he underwent surgery to repair a sprained MCL and partially torn ACL in his right knee (CLICK HERE). At the time, we were told Green met the criteria to receive a medical redshirt, but he could not apply for it until his eligibility was exhausted.

Last season, Green played in all 13 games, making 11 catches for 188 yards and a touchdown. For his career, the Scooba native has 42 receptions for 580 yards and four TDs.

“Before I decided to come back, I wanted to make sure my body was healthy. I needed some time off in the spring,” Green said. “… I kind of looked back over it and thought about the situation that coming back another year, it wasn’t going to be so bad. I think I made the right decision.”

The main obstacle to Green returnining, he said, was fear.

“When you have these injuries, like the knee injury, the main thing is getting over the fear that something else is going happen to you.”

Malcolm Johnson, a rising third-year sophomore, took over the starting job at tight end during spring practices, in which Green did not participate. Johnson had 11 catches for 206 yards and three TDs last season, averaging 18.7 yards per catch. If Green can remain healthy, he will provide valuable depth at a position that also includes sophomore Brandon Hill, redshirt freshman Rufus Warren and freshman Gus Walley.